4x4 collage swap - roads + paths: lenna andrews, Cortez, FL (set #1)

Well! I was not planning on doing this, but I jumped in and made six - 4x4's - on the theme of roads + paths. I made four for the swap and 2 extras. I figured I could keep one, maybe use the other one for a prize, or I might even make another set! These were a quick jump into this swap and did not take long to do. What you see here is one answer to the challenge I have thrown out . . . . I think I was itching to work on this theme! I started by printing photos I was interested in working with onto digital textured paper by Strathmore, that is designed to be like watercolor paper. I printed out 2 images per sheet, 4" x 6" size - and after printing them  I cut the images down to the 4"x 4" size for our swap.

I wasn't sure exactly what I was going to do with my 4x4 images on this sturdy paper, but then I remembered creating some cool ATCs by printing images with my ink jet printer and then using a wet brush to play with the ink from the printer.

 

So, I decided to try the same thing with my road + path images . . .

                               

It is a little hard to see in the photos -look on the path in the image above- but wetting the inkjet ink on a watercolor type paper like this creates some interesting effects. Below is how all my images looked after I used a wet brush on them. You can see the original photos on my flickr account set: roads + paths.

                                         
I wanted to add words and had to think a while on how I wanted to do it. I ended up rubber stamping what I felt were words that connected to the images, on the front of my 4x4's and then doing a little bit of journaling for the back. This process reminded me of the journal quilts I created in 2007; meaning the journaling I did on the back. The writing was done on a separate piece of paper, typed up on the computer, and then glued to the back of the watercolor piece. The rubber stamping was done with a thick, black VersaCraft ink pad and then set with a heat gun for permanence and also because VersaCraft is a very wet ink. This gave me the sharp, dark look I wanted.

Below is each 4x4 with the back of the piece showing, prior to being glued together. You'll need to click on each scan to see all the details.

                           
                              
                              
                                

and lastly . . . 

                                      

yikes! Sorry for the extra long post, but I wanted to show you how I approached this challenge. Remember, this is just one way to go about it! I have left you a lot of options - read all the swap details here. We've had 10 people signed up already, so there are about 30 spots left . . .  room for you! 

lenna young andrews - February 26th, 2010